Ultra-small Rotary Encoder among World's Smallest

Microtech Laboratory exhibited the ultra-small rotary encoder MES-6-125PST16C, a device that detects at high accuracy the rotational angle and speed of mechanical devices and motors, at International Robot Exhibition 2013.

"Typical rotary encoders are large industrial models mostly about palm-size, but this product is very small, able to fit on a fingertip."

This ultra-small rotary encoder is 7.5mm in diameter and 10.5mm in height. It is an incremental rotary encoder with a resolution of 2,000 P/R (pulses per revolution) capable of outputting square waves with A, B, and Z phases.

"We have developed an ultra-small photo sensor. The new ultra-small rotary encoder was successfully developed by using this sensor combined with small form factor embedding technology.

As for the resolution specification, we have been able to achieve performance on par with conventional products while shrinking the form factor. The new product will enable measurements that previously were not measurable such as in medical equipment and robot arm finger joints."

This new ultra-small rotary encoder can be used in surgery assisting robots, humanoid robots, and narrow space probing robots that cannot accommodate conventional encoders, so this is expected to support the development of robots of the future.

"We specialize in customization, so we want to continue to broadly incorporate customer feedback into the development of new products."